Electric Plaster Co. v. Reedy

Citations

• 74 Kan. 57
• 85 P. 824
• 1906 Kan. LEXIS 6

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Master and Servant — Death by Wrongful Act — Risk Not . Assumed. In an underground gypsum mine not operated under the mining laws of the state the superintendent, whose duty it was to direct the operations of the miners and to locate where shots should be placed, ordered the deceased and others immediately before a shot was fired to go for safety into a room directly opposite a thin wall where the shot was located, under the belief that the wall or pillar was much thicker than it actually was, and that the force of the shot would therefore break into another part of the mine instead of breaking through where it did, resulting in the death of the deceased. Held, that it was the duty of the superintendent to know the actual thickness of the pillar and the probable consequences resulting from the shot being so placed, and that the risk was not one which deceased had assumed.</p> <p>2. - Contributory Negligence — Question of Fact. In such a case the question of the contributory negligence of deceased is one of fact which, having been fairly presented in the instructions, is determined by a general verdict in favor of plaintiff in an action against the mining company for wrongful death.</p>